by Stephen Dunn
But sometimes preachers are simply critiquing their brothers and sisters. Very early in my ministry my denominational exec sent me to preach in the pulpit of a local pastor who thought the denomination was too liberal. He who used that perception to justify teaching a doctrine that was contrary to teaching of the church from which he had been ordained and in his ordination pledge he had promised to defend. When I got done his comment/compliment was "good doctrine." I had to ask myself was this actually a compliment, or had I given him justification to continue to ignore the clear teaching of the church.
Such critiquing is rarely motivated out of love for Christ and His Church. Such critiquing also tends to make us poor worshipers and poor hearers of the Word because we do not come to the sermon with the intention of seeking to hear God's word to us. We come because we are preachers and when we're not preaching we're just there for show instead of sanctification.
Beware of the critiquing spirit captures many a preacher's mind when listening to another preacher preaching. We just might miss the truth God wants to reveal to us when we're not so busy preaching.
